We believe you've never had the opportunity to read text like this anywhere, never see these images, or see how Alibaba works from a seller's perspective.
When you register with a seller account (or hybrid account) on Alibaba, trading through Alibaba from a seller's perspective takes place via a special platform called TradeManager.
TradeManager is a program developed by Alibaba Network Technology Co.
However, let's start in order.
Opening a Company on Alibaba
Before you get approval to list your company on Alibaba, people from Alibaba will visit you twice. The first time is for a conversation and getting to know the platform, options, and their offers.
After that, when you decide and purchase one of their packages, they will visit you again β this time for verification and vetting of your company.
Company verification is a mandatory part of every package.
We warn you: although Alibaba tries to verify every seller and reduce the number of frauds, they still occur.
A recent example is a person who independently tried to buy a QUAD from Alibaba but contacted us for advice and help with procurement because the process became suspicious. After reviewing the correspondence and documents, we replied as follows:
"Dear,
400cc has no chance at that price. Besides, they have their distributors in the region and don't sell this way. It's pure fraud, unfortunately. I hope you didn't pay the rest they asked for again. Report them on Alibaba so at least they remove them and don't fraud more people. Kind regards."
From time to time we receive similar emails.
We don't want to discourage or dissuade you from procurement through Alibaba, we're just pointing out that you should keep your eyes open.
Let's get back to the topic.
When you purchase Alibaba's package, you don't set up your site and presentation on their platform. Alibaba people do that for you.
What you need to do is provide them with data about your company, products, as well as images of the company and products β lots of images. They asked us to provide them with a minimum of 200 photos, from which they will select a certain number, process, and post on the site.
Later, within TradeManager, you have the option to change, add, and delete data according to your wishes.
TradeManager β Seller's Tool
What is TradeManager?
TradeManager is a fast and efficient messaging tool on Alibaba.com that allows you to quickly respond to buyer inquiries and needs.
It allows you to:
- present your company and business,
- list your products and their prices,
- talk with buyers anywhere in the world in real time,
- and much more.
If we were to compare it to something, it most closely resembles a CMS (WordPress, Joomla, or similar), only it's much more comprehensive.
CMS are tools for creating and managing websites β content management systems. They enable users to create, edit, process, publish, and store digital content.
Translation and Program Language
An additional problem for those who don't speak Chinese is that a good part of the program is in Chinese and cannot be translated, since the program doesn't use classic browsers but its own environment. Video tutorials that serve as tutorials for learning the program itself are particularly problematic.
There are versions in Chinese and English (we use the Chinese version with translation option to English, but all instructions are in Chinese).
We haven't had the opportunity to see and work on the English version of TradeManager.
What Does TradeManager Look Like?
Here we'll show you what TradeManager looks like.
There are versions for all devices and operating systems β whether it's a computer, phone, tablet, etc. You can use it simultaneously on multiple devices.
If you use Windows, when installed, it will add an Alibaba Supplier icon within the Windows menu to enable quick access to the program. The installation program includes 73 files and usually has about 901.34 KB (922,968 bytes) β current version.
TradeManager is an extremely comprehensive program for communicating with clients. Most companies require managers to have a university degree with at least 3β5 years of experience in trade marketing, as well as trade marketing manager qualifications.
When the program is installed, the icon on your desktop looks like this:
Clicking the icon turns on your work tool:
This is the TradeManager program start screen.
On the left side you have the main menu.
There you can manage your presentation, review and control visits, and much more. However, the most important menu items are at the very top in quick search, and for us, besides the obvious Messages, perhaps even more significant is RFQ Market.
Messages is the part used for communication and correspondence with clients, while RFQ Market is the part where buyers search for requests for quotations.
If you're not familiar with the RFQ (Request for Quotation) system as a buyer, you can read our text on that topic: Creating a Request for Quotation on Alibaba (RFQ).
RFQ Market β Finding Buyers
As with being a buyer, you have a search option, only this time searching for what someone wants to buy.
We sell PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) on Alibaba, and when we as sellers type Polyvinyl Alcohol in the search field, we get the following screen:
Here are listed all buyers who want to buy Polyvinyl Alcohol or products made from Polyvinyl Alcohol.
As a seller, you have the opportunity to see who wants to buy what, and if you have the requested product, you can offer it to the potential buyer.
Depending on the package you purchased from Alibaba, you have a certain monthly quota of quotations you can send. We currently have a package that includes 10 quotas in 15 days. This means that in 15 days we can send responses to 10 RFQ inquiries. Every 15 days we get 10 new quotas again.
Also, in our package, buyers can receive only 10 different quotations. If a buyer has already received 10 quotations from our competitors, we cannot write to them.
In the image above, you can see that we contacted, sent a quotation, and wrote to a person from Guatemala who is looking for PVA.
You can also see that 4 other sellers have sent them their quotations, and before the notification expires, they will probably receive 5 more quotations.
Like sellers, buyers also have their own badges in the form of medals: bronze, silver, and gold buyers, depending on the volume and quality of trade.
How Much of TradeManager Have We Seen?
This application is so large and comprehensive that it can be learned for a very long time, even as some kind of course or smaller studies.
We've only shown you its basics.
In a nutshell, we tried to give you a sense of what it's like to be on the other side of Alibaba.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to sell goods from Alibaba as a small company?
Yes, smaller companies can register on Alibaba, but the verification process and package price depend on which type of account you choose. Most serious sellers on Alibaba are still medium and large companies.
Is TradeManager available in English?
There are versions in Chinese and English, but a large part of the interface and all video tutorials are in Chinese. This makes it difficult for many foreign sellers to use the program.
What is RFQ Market and how does it work for sellers?
RFQ (Request for Quotation) Market is the part where buyers post requests for quotations. The seller sees what buyers are looking for and can send them a quotation. The number of quotations you can send depends on the package you have.
Does Alibaba guarantee that the seller is not a scammer?
Alibaba tries to verify every seller and vet companies, but cannot guarantee that fraud won't occur. You always need to be careful, check the seller, and not rush with payments.
Is it worthwhile to open sales on Alibaba if we're from Europe?
For European companies that want to sell in China or Asia, Alibaba can be useful, but requires a serious approach, good market knowledge, and language skills. For larger companies exporting from Europe, direct business with Chinese buyers is often more worthwhile.
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